Recently, I had to run an errand and my children were with me. We were in a mall that we normally don’t go to and one of the girls wanted to go window shopping in one of her favorite stores. After being in the store for a while, I got my daughter’s attention and told her that it was time to leave. I was certain that she looked right at me, heard me and yet, kept on browsing through the store. I was quite furious that she had heard me and had chosen to disobey my request.
Eventually, I calmed myself down and later, I realized that we often hear the voice of God instructing us to move, like my daughter, we often times we ignore His voice. Sometimes we just flat out don’t want to do what He is requiring because it will take us out of our comfort zone or it will require us to make some tough changes. Sometimes we partially complete the task, hoping that our halfway effort will suffice. Other times we stubbornly stall and then finally give in to God’s request.
Deuteronomy 28 gives a detailed overview of the blessings that are associated with obedience. If we do our part (obey), God promises to do His part (take care of us). According to verses 12 -14, the following a few of the rewards for obedience:
1. God sends rain – Rain brings growth. As we obey God, we grow to higher heights because He can trust us with greater things. Many of us are asking God to do wonders in our lives, but we are not showing him that we are trustworthy with His little requests.
2. He will bless the work of your hands – As we are obedient to God concerning His Word and the things He puts on our hearts, the works of our hands are blessed. That includes our children, our homes, our careers, our gardens…Because we choose to obey God and make our relationship with Him a priority, He makes the things concerning us a priority.
Obedience to God is not a gray area topic. We either do it or we don’t. Our willingness to obey God in the mundane things as well as the major issues of our lives reveals our level of maturity in Christ.
What is God speaking to you about? Maybe He is requiring you to give an apology even though you feel wronged. Perhaps you need to set aside more time for Him or He wants you to step up higher.
Where is God requiring your obedience? Have you decided that you will be obedient to Him despite your fears, concerns, or stubbornness?
Father, I realize that I cannot declare my love for you if I am not willing to obey your Word and your voice. Help me to declutter my life so that I can hear you speak to me. As I hear you speak, I want to obey. As I read your Word, I want to be obedient and just do it without excuses.
